A Perfect Day To Die
by Minnow
Summary: Grimmauld Place, Sirius’s last day (sniff). (SB x RL, happy fic)


**A Perfect Day to Die by Minnow**

**Disclaimer: **These characters belong to J.K. Rowling and various publishers and corporations.  
**Summary: **Grimmauld Place, Sirius's last day (sniff).  
**Pairing:** Remus/Sirius  
**Era: **OotP, just pre-death.  
**Spoilers: **The Harry Potter series, especially OotP.  
**Rating: **PG  
**Notes:** Not my favourite; I want them to be happy all the time, with no-one dying, blah blah blah. But canon isn't like that. Still, it's fluffy enough if you don't think about what happened next. Also, Boots is a well-known chain of chemist shops (like drugstores).

**A Perfect Day to Die **

The sun was pouring through the bedroom window; even in Grimmauld Place, it was a beautiful summer day.

Sirius woke up early, and snuggled up to the warm body beside him in the bed, content just to lie there in the warmth with the person he loved more than anyone else on earth.

It would have been good to have a proper house-elf, a sweet, female house-elf who would wake him and Moony with tea and toast in bed, draw the curtains and wish them both good morning.

Failing that, he decided that he could always get up himself, make some tea and bring it up to Moony. Moony was definitely not a morning person, but he always appreciated a cup of tea.

Reluctantly, he left the warm bed, put on his dressing gown and padded downstairs. For once, the house was completely deserted except for him and Moony. Kreacher was no doubt still asleep in his nest by the kitchen, and the portrait of Mrs. Black snored gently behind firmly closed curtains.

He made the tea, though not the Muggle way. He drew the line at that. His new wand wasn't ideal, but it was getting quite accomplished at tea-making. He would have preferred a wand that spewed perfect hexes and counter-curses, but no doubt those skills would come in due course.

He brought the tray up to bed, and balanced it precariously on his knees. 'Moony, wake up. '

Remus groaned and rolled over, then sat up, still bleary-eyed. 'Sirius? It's the crack of dawn! Go back to sleep. G'night.'

'It's seven o'clock. Come on, drink this and you'll feel better.'

At nine, they went down to the kitchen for breakfast, holding hands and giggling, feeling a bit light-headed, just they had in the old days at Hogwarts.

'Fry-up, I think,' Sirius announced. 'The wand hasn't quite mastered bacon yet. Can you do it, Moony?'

'Why do I always end up with the domestic stuff?' Remus grumbled, but he managed to produce passable bacon and eggs, plus some very fine porridge and a great deal of slightly burnt toast.

The two men munched their way companionably through their breakfast in a comfortable silence, occasionally smiling at each other across the table. 'I wouldn't mind this dump so much if it was always like this,' Sirius mumbled, his mouth full of toast. 'Even Kreacher wouldn't seem so bad.'

'It won't be for much longer,' Remus reassured him.

After breakfast, they went up to attend to Buckbeak. His left wing had somehow got badly cut, and the cut wasn't healing well. The hippogriff's injury cast a shadow on the bright morning. 'Pity we were both so lousy at Potions,' Sirius said. 'He just needs some salve, but damned if I could even begin to make it.'

'How about some Muggle cream?' Remus asked. 'Muggles have all sorts of healing lotions and things.'

Sirius was dubious. 'Look what happened to Arthur when they gave him those Muggle stitches.'

'Well, it's worth a try, Sirius. How about I nip out to a Muggle chemist and see what I can find?'

Sirius knew that a chemist was a Muggle shop that sold many remedies for illness, and he would dearly have loved to go with his friend and see a chemist for himself.

Remus was firm. 'No. You must stay here.'

Sirius whined. 'Oh, Moony, you're not going to find Dementors in Muggle London. Or Death Eaters. And it's still term-time, so we won't run into bloody Snape. Please.'

Remus looked out at the beautiful morning and relented. 'But you must go on a lead.'

Sirius had already transformed, and stood there wagging his tail, grinning his wide, doggy grin. Remus ruffled his fur, and they went out of the front door together.

They took the long way round, through the park, so Padfoot could have a good run. Remus threw sticks for him, and Padfoot brought them back and laid them at his feet, delirious with happiness. It was the first time he had been outside since seeing Harry off at King's Cross, almost a year ago.

Eventually, Remus and Padfoot reluctantly left the park and strolled to the big Boots off Piccadilly. 'This one has a brilliant pet section, Padfoot,' Remus explained.

However, there was a large sign outside the store: NO DOGS EXCEPT GUIDE DOGS.

Padfoot whined, and pawed at Remus's leg, looking up at him with big, appealing eyes.

Remus relented. 'Oh, all right. Just this once. Dumbledore would kill me! Thank goodness you're wearing Muggle clothes.'

A few minutes later, the two men were standing outside Boots again. 'It's not like I even LOOK like the posters,' Sirius murmured in Remus's ear. 'I mean, my hair's much shorter, the beard's gone – ' He caught sight of himself in the big mirror by the door, and squawked. 'Moony, what the hell--?'

Remus looked smug. 'Just to make quite sure nobody recognises you.'

'Hmm. Actually, I think blond hair suits me. What d'you say, Moony?'

'I say shush. We're two Muggles looking for lotion for our injured pet.'

A half hour later, Remus and Sirius left Boots laden down with pet lotions and creams, a green collar for Padfoot, two bottles of blond hair dye for Sirius – 'Look, Moony, it says 'Permanent' –- a brush for Padfoot, some flea powder – 'I thought it said FLOO powder there for a moment, Moony' -- cat biscuits for Buckbeak, a bowl with 'Good Dog' on it, various band-aids and dental flosses, and a pair of sunglasses so Sirius could walk home in human form.

Remus was still shaking. 'That cost £60, Padfoot. £60. That's an awful lot of galleons, if you didn't know.'

'Oh, but it was worth it!' Sirius beamed. He grabbed hold of Remus's hand and swung their arms as they walked along the crowded pavement. A few Muggles looked at them askance, but neither Sirius nor Remus even noticed.

When they got back to Grimmauld Place, there was an irritated owl from Molly, asking where the hell everyone was, because she had been ringing the bell for half an hour and nobody had answered. When the portrait of Mrs. Black had finally been silenced, Sirius shrugged, and tossed the letter into the kitchen fire.

'Molly'll be back. She always is.' He went over to the mirror to admire his hair again, and groaned. 'Moony, it's not blond any more!'

'My dyes aren't quite as permanent as Muggle ones,' Remus grinned. 'If you're a good dog, we'll try one of the Muggle dyes this evening. Okay?'

Sirius, still high from his outing, threw his arms round Remus and gave him a smacking kiss. 'Shall we both go blond, Moony? I mean, you're nearly there already. We'd look amazing!'

Remus smiled. 'Perhaps. Listen, Sirius, shouldn't we put some of this stuff on Buckbeak?'

Buckbeak whined a bit as Sirius gently smoothed cream over his cut, but he lay down docilely afterwards, and fell asleep.

'It's been a brilliant day, Moony,' Sirius said a bit later, after a big lunch of bread and cheese and butterbeer. 'We must do this more often.'

'One day, we'll be able to go out like that all the time,' Remus promised him.

They went back up to check on Buckbeak. He was still sleeping peacefully, and the cut was already starting to look less red and angry.

'Now everything's perfect,' Sirius sighed in relief.

A few minutes later, the two men set off, metaphorical sirens blaring, for the Ministry of Magic.

**End**


End file.
